While traveling in a vehicle, passengers commonly experience a rapid, buffeting air pressure pulsation when one or more windows of the vehicle is opened while the vehicle is traveling at speed. The pressure pulsation can be experienced as both a physical and an audible vibration. This vibration can be a discomfort to passengers and a distraction to the driver.
The intensity of the vibration is influenced by the aerodynamic properties of the vehicle. Passengers in some vehicle models may not experience the effects of the pressure pulsation, whereas passengers of other vehicle models may experience such effects to respectively varying degrees. Vehicles with large passenger cabins, such as sport utility vehicles (SUVs), often have multiple rows of side windows, and may exhibit particularly excessive wind pressure pulsations inside the passenger cabin when the vehicle is traveling at speed and one or more of the rear side windows of the vehicle are lowered when the front side windows are raised. For a given model of vehicle, the onset and/or intensity of the pressure pulsation can be predicted by observing the vehicle speed and window positions.
In the SUV example above (where a wind pressure pulsation results when a rear side window is open and both front side windows are closed), the driver or a passenger can diminish the intensity of the wind pressure pulsation by slightly lowering one or both of the SUV's front side windows, thereby preventing excessive pressure buildup. In general, within the passenger cabin experiencing a wind pressure pulsation, relief can be obtained by slightly opening one or more closed windows.